Repair work underway on the culvert Tuesday morning. The view is toward the south. (Click to enlarge)

“Another round of unexpected delays” will push back the reopening of the western end of Navesink River Road in Middletown to the end of June, Monmouth County officials announced late last week.

The reconstruction of a culvert on Poricy Pond Brook that partially collapsed March 31 has been bedeviled by problems that  included the rupture of a mis-marked water line and a valve failure that caused water to pour into the work zone unabated for days.

“It’s like a comedy of errors,” says nearby resident John Patterson, who says he visits the site almost daily to check on its progress.

The work, which is being done by county employees to save money, now has engineers “hopeful” that the project will be completed by June 30, the county said in a press release issued Friday.

In addition to “faulty mark-outs” by New Jersey-American Water Co. showing the location of a water line, the job has also been delayed by “additional construction requirements by the state Department of Environmental Protection,” according to the release.

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“This is an unfortunate occurrence for the residents in that area who are forced to detour around it,” said Freeholder John P. Curley, liaison to the Monmouth County Department of Public Works & Engineering, which is repairing the road. “We are well into the construction phase and these additional  efforts to improve the supporting soil conditions surrounding the drainage pipes will yield a better and stronger culvert.”

“I again thank the nearby residents for their patience during this project. I know they will be happy with the new road when it reopens,” Curley said.

Patterson, though, says he’s in no hurry to see the work completed.

“I love it,” he says, referring to the absence of truck and bus traffic that uses that stretch of Navesink River Road because it is prohibited on the nearby Hubbards Bridge. “Everybody here does.”